"Ohhh let me see! Hm, I think we've got a little artist on our hands. This one's perfect to go on the fridge yes it is!"
With a single sweep she hoisted the girl up. Resting her against her hip, she held her gently. Lifting her right hand, she held the drawing toward the light. Along its surface three figures stood side by side. In crude detail were two women hand in hand with blocked feet, rectangle bodies, and round heads. The neat scribbles that filled in the rough shapes of their hair, one purple and one blonde towered over the tiny shape of a girl. Their eyes were simple green and blue dots. On their faces black smiles and pointed noses stared back. A crude jumble of circles in tan made a crouched cat- or should have.
She swallowed as her pounding heartbeats swelled in her throat. Blinking back tears, her smile stretched from ear to ear. The tingle of pride surged and seized its way in her chest. Leaning in, she pressed a flurry of kisses to her daughter's forehead.
"I'm extremely happy; you've learned the word proud in school haven't you? That's how I feel. I'll ask Mama about getting a kitty. It's not a light affair though; you'd have to take care of it. Feed it, give it water, and make sure it's safe. There are many things to remember, it has a life just like we do."
Slowly she crossed the hallway into the kitchen. At its center stood a marble topped island; to its immediate right a stainless steel fridge was sandwiched between the sink and the light switch. Humming, she strode across the oak hardwood floors and stopped before the fridge. Its polished door reflected their faces like a mirror. Her smile settled into a grin. Setting down her daughter carefully on her feet, she waved the sketch.
"Here it is a masterpiece on display."
Clipping the paper under a round magnet, she stuck it to the door. Placing her hands on her hips, she gave a firm nod. The girl craned her neck toward her handiwork. Raising her small arms, she giggled as she clapped. Bending on one knee, Nozomi ruffled her daughter's hair. She pointed at the picture adorned above them.
"Look very carefully at your work. You believed in yourself when you made it didn't you? Be proud, it is yours, and it is one of your first steps."
A/N: I had to add in the short desc. of the cat for the sake of maintaining logic, cuz originally the kitten is mentioned by an friend who sent in an ask on tumblr prompting this and I thought it'd be awkward to drop what they wrote in since the styles would clash (and tech. I didn't write those lines so it wouldn't be accurate to this fic's desc.)
I have so many feelings abt Dadzomi but cliffnotes ver.: She is zealous about not repeating her parent's neglect to the point of later unintentionally making Nonna feel useless bc of her helicopter parents who're just trying to be loving and it slightly backfires since it doesn't help her build solid self-confidence in making important & moral choices much, when as a teenager she manages to bring it up it serves as a reality check for Nozomi needing to learn to control her anxiety and fear of failure, and remember she needs to let people be themselves too sometimes
Also Nozomi is totally that tumblr post where the parent is like "Fuck yeah fanart" when their kid makes macaroni art of them or something lmao